"You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch.’" - Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell

I live in Krakow, Poland, and I work at a company that tends to employ a lot of ex-pats. I'm an American. I've also previously (but still with the same firm) worked with folks from Italy, Spain, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Finland, Guatemala, New Zealand, France, Belgium, the US, Poland (lots of those folks!), and - of course - Ukraine and Russia. In fact, the person that sits across from me is a Russian who has been living in Poland for a number of years now.

There is much talk, both in and outside of the office, about the situation in Ukraine - and quite a lot of very real concern and fear. However, I make a point not to discuss it, particularly not with the Russian that sits across from me. The person that sits across from me has nothing to do with Ukraine; they are not there causing trouble. If we were outside of work we might talk about it, but I think (hope) without any anger/accusations/hysteria. After all, neither of us are in Ukraine causing trouble and, of course, neither of us truly represent our countries. We're just people with jobs to do and lives to get on with.